Bag closure



R. DEBATE BAG CLOSURE Jan. 15, 1946.

Filed Jan. 17, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Al @SQ Jan. 15,1945. R. DEBATE 2,393,151

BAG CLO SURE Filed Jan. 17, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 15, 1946 BAG CLOSURE Robert Debate, New Orleans, La., assignor to Bemis Bro. Bag Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application January 17, 1944,'Serial No. 518,549

1 Claim.

This invention relates to bag closures, and with regard to certain more specific features to openmesil; bag closures incorporating pre-woven draw cor Among the several objects of the invention may be noted the provision of an open-mesh bag having a draw cord, which may readily be manufactured from a web of. open-weave material in which a draw cord has previously been woven, without the necessity for knotting the draw cord subsequently to bag formation; the provision of a bag closure of the class described in which a narrow draw cord may, without knotting, besecurely and automatically anchored at the time that a side seam is formed; the provision of a construction ,Of the class described which is effective with the coarse type of stitching required for open-mesh seam formation; and the provision of a structure of this class which provides the desired results at a saving in manufacturing cost. Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations of elements, steps and sequence of steps, features of construction and manipulation, and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in structures and methods hereinafter described, and the scope of the application of which will :be indicated in the following claim.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is illustrated one of various possible embodiments of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a plan layout ofa.segment of openmesh web material from which bags are to be made, with indications thereon of certain lines of Fig. 6 is an enlarged edge view from line 6-6 of Fig.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing still another embodiment; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged edge view from line 88 of Fig. 7.

Similar reference characters indicate corre sponding parts throughout the severalviews of the drawings. I

Fruits, vegetables and the like are often packs in so-called open-mesh bags in which are draw strings which allow closure of the bags after filling. The bag-forming fabric is generally cut as a segment from a web of open-weave material, in which the draw cord is pre-woven. The resulting segment is folded over once and then seamed to form a bottom and a side seam. It will be noted that the cutting which occurs alon line C leaves raw edges which are brought together for the seaming operation, and that the raw cut ends of the draw cord ll form a part of these raw edges.

The stitching used for the seam is quite coarse in order to form a proper cooperation with the open-mesh characteristic of the material being seamed. The result is that a desired cooperation between the seam and the loose ends of the draw cord is not consummated, as desired. Thus, in order to avoid pulling out of the draw cord it has been tied. The tying operation is tedious, time consuming and expensive.

In the fabric supply web I of Fig. 1 the warp threads 3 are parallel to the length of the web and the filling threads 5 are cross-wise, thus placing the selvages I and 9 at the edges of the web. The pre-woven draw cord is shown at H parallel to the web length and near one edge. Beyond the draw cord the warp threads are more closely woven for added strength. They" are also more closely woven near the bottom, for similar reasons. To make a bag the web is cut crosswise into segments as at lines C. Each resulting segment is then folded on a median cross-wise fold line F. Later it is seamed along the bottom and along the adjacent cut edges to form a bag as will appear. Thus the selvages 1 and 9 are at the desired mouth and bottom of the bag respectively. The drawcord I l is also near the mouth. One edge closure of the bag is formed by the fold line F and the other edge closure by the side seam to be applied.

As detailed in a small part of Fig. 3 the warp thread in web 3 may consist in elements A and B alternately woven over and under the filler threads 5 to form what is known as a leno weave. This is not absolutely necessary as will appear in Figs. 5 and 7 wherein plain warp threads are illustrated. The web I is in a continuous supply. The draw cord II is also continuous in the web, and, for example, is woven alternately over and under six of the filler threads.

Heretofore, the draw cord was not anchored by the stitching because the stitching ordinarily used in the seam is so coarse that there is no assurance that it will engage the draw cord.

After the continuous web I has been out along lines such as illustrated at C and the resulting segment folded along line F as indicated in Fig. 2, stitching is applied along the bottom as indicated at l3 and along the non-folded side as indicated at IS. The lengths of stitching Band! 5 may be continuous as indicated.

lnsteadof carrying the stitching I 5 straight over an unfolded corner of the bag (for an un- 4) to form at said corner six plies of bag material as a tight bundle. It will be seen that since the draw cord I I was woven into the open-mesh-fabric that it also at the corner will :be folded over and under so that it will be traversed by the stitching I5 at six points. The stitching I5 may be angled as indicated at 21 to follow the length of the resulting folded-over triangular bundle of material. Coarse stitching is ordinarily used for the threads I3 I5 because it is best adapted to hold open weave fabric. For example, it is comnon practice to use about five or six stitches per inch for seaming an open-mesh fabric having 1% inch interstitial lattices between web and filler threads.

but will anchor these ends if they are turned over ina bundle as described. Thus consistent anshoring of the end E of the draw card H is obtained by bundling the corner region of the bag in the vicinity of and including said draw cord endsE.

In Figs. 5 and dis shown a modification in which thecorner portion of the bag, including the fends'E of the draw cord I I are simply folded over once, without the additional under folding .Step of Flig'. In this case the stitching I5 at the corner of the bag traverses four layers of open-mesh fabric and four .end portions of the draw cord II.

form of the invention is satisfactory where Ithe open-mesh fabric has smaller lattices .and/ or where the stitching I5 is finer. The same bundling principle is the cause of the efiicientanchorfigs. 7 and 8.,show still another four-layer form of theinyention in which, instead of folding the two sides of the corner portion all in the same direction, they are folded oppositely against opposite sides of the bag near its mouth. The folds are triangular as before, but each lies against an opposite side of the bag and carries .with ,it one threads being compound and woven alternately over and under the filler threads.

The invention is particularly useful in quantity manufacture because all that an operator needs to do is to make the turned-over bundle at the corner of the bag as the seam-forming needle of the sewing machine is approached while guiding the 'bundledfabric so that the stitching properly traverses it, including the draw cord and portions. This with very little effort and expense the draw cord is anchored very securely. The

costly draw cord tying operation is eliminated-x entirely. 4

"The stitching I5 may be of the single strand Variety or made up of several strands, for exar nple, two 3-ply lfi-yarn-braided threads. These maybe threaded through-thef-eye of the sewin I Such a coarse stitch would not con- 'sistently anchor loose ends E of the draw cord II,

needle and their use reduces slipping between the sewing thread and the open-mesh fabric.

his to :be understoodthat the bag before it is 1 11! .intoffinal use is turned inside out from the condition shown in Figs. 3-8.

It will also be understood that the bag may be made up by cutting instead of folding at F and v then superimposing the two layers thus separated and seaming on both sides at the resulting raw edges. In such event a turned-over bundled portion shouldhe provided at each upper corner of the bag to be traversed by the respective seams on opposite sides of the bag.

The shown round character of the draw cord II is better than fiat draw cords such as ribbons and the like which are expensive" and not as satisfactory for the purpose. A round draw cord functions better, and is stronger than a flat ribbonlike draw cord and is not subject to distortion under twist. The present invention solves the problem which has heretofore made round draw cords useless unless tied. However, it also improvedly anchors flat draw cords when treated as herein specified.

One item that makes the invention so economical to produce is that the local triangular folding at the corner, including the raw cut edges ofthe draw cord II, may be made with slight effort as the needle which produces the stitching I5 isapproached, the stitching carrying on right on through the folded portionduring the stitching operation which produces the side seam. The triangular portions which are folded against the bag at its corner carry angled woven ends of the draw cord as indicated in Figs. .3, 5 and 'I. These angled draw cord portions are not in'line with the remainder of the draw cord. Thus they, in a flatwise plane, present adjacent draw cord portions for better interception by the stitching which traverses the folded triangular portion. The result is a greater certainty of catching at least some portions .of the ends of the draw cor positively to anchor it.

The term bundle as used herein describes all of thecorner foldings shown in Figs. 3-8.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As many changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

In a bag having sides cut from an open-mesh woven web and having a prewoven and also not draw cord near the mouth-forming edge, comprising la stitched plain non-folded side seam adjacent the raw cut edges throughout most of their lengths, said raw cut edges being angularly locally folded against the bag adjacent to the .cut ends of the draw cord at an end of the bag mouth, triangular portions of the web bein thus formed against the bag and carrying angled woven ends of the draw cord which lie near but not in line with the remainder of the, draw cord so as flatwise to present adjacent draw cord portions for better interception by stitching, the stitchingof the side seam traversing said folded triangular portions, and by reason of the angled end portions of the draw cord being adapted to oatchat least some portions at the end portions of the draw cord positive y to anchor the same.

. ROBERTDEBA'IE'. 

